MLB Week in Review (July 14-20)
Posted by thesportsjunky on July 21, 2012 · Leave a Comment
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The Hall of Fame is a place where the best of the best are honoured for each league yet is also a place that is the centre of the most debate in pro sports. Hall of Fames intend to honour the best players that have ever played in the league but many times people’s opinions differ. There are countless players who will never see the hall of fame unless they buy a ticket and then there are the handful that made an impact in the game to earn a spot. Then there are the few that actually make it into the Hall of Fame and are immortalized as one of the best players to ever play. No Hall of Fame is more difficult to enter than the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Baseball Hall of Fame is extremely hard to become a part of as the baseball writers that vote for induction are extremely picky about who they allow in the Hall of Fame. In a typical year only 1 or 2 of the ballot of 10 nominees is actually elected and are added to the one inductee from the senior committee. It is an extremely tough voting process that weeds out the smaller names, if you get under 5% of the vote you are off of the ballot until you reach the senior committee. This ensures that only the best players get into the hall of fame but also opens up many debates. With so few players getting in there are many more sitting on the outside waiting meaning that the likelihood of a good player or fan favorite being left out is very good. With fan favorites not making it the fans of that team are sure to cause a stir because their guy didn’t get in. Then there are the legitimate cases where players that seem to have all of the requirements get passed over again and again. Players like Ted Simmons, Alan Trammell, Tim Raines, and Orel Hershiser have all been sitting on the sidelines as other players get in to the Hall. All of these players have an argument about getting into the hall but it is hard to argue when there are no real requirements for someone’s induction. Baseball writers all have their own set of requirements for induction making it hard to pin down what makes a hall of famer. For some it is all about the stats and whether or not a player is ranked among the top in his position (See Ted Williams). For others it is about the championships and whether or not the player played big in important games or if he could ever bring his team to the big game (see Reggie Jackson). Other voters prefer to elect those players who have had an impact on the game in a way that without them the game would not be the same (See Babe Ruth). With no true voting criteria the Baseball Hall of Fame remains contentious and will continue to remain contentious as new members continue to get in and others are left on the outside. It continues to be one of the most debated subjects in all of pro sports, not just baseball, as nobody really knows what gets a player into the hall of fame. It is a mystery that will never be solved as fans and analysts alike continue to look at the inductions. One thing is for sure though and that is that once you make it in you will not be taken out and for Ron Santo and Barry Larkin this reality will sink in as they enter the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.
Although it has always been a point of debate among fans the most debate era of the Hall of Fame may still be approaching. As players from the Steroid Era begin to become eligible for the Hall of Fame the debate continues to heat up. Should those accused of using PEDs get in to the Hall of fame? Should only those who admitted to using it make it in due to the fact that they were honest? Should only those who have been proven to using PEDs not be allowed? All of these questions will be answered in the coming years as players like Roger Clemons, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire would all have made the Hall of Fame 10 years ago. Since the revelation of steroid use hit all three have been at the centre of the scandal and could very well never see the inside of Cooperstown. The debate for them to be kept out is an easy one as those who cheat should not be rewarded for gaming the system. Then again for many people the fact that they were using steroids at a time when seemingly everyone was using steroids means that they were still some of the best players in the game. This will be the debate for the foreseeable future as athletes accused of using steroids continue to file into the Hall of Fame ballot and writers continue to face a moral debate. The likelihood of them not making it is high as players have been kept waiting for a lot less, Roberto Alomar had to wait a year before he was inducted apparently because he spit in an umpire’s face. The writers are not very forgiving and many of them still remember the Steroid era as being an exciting time that was marred by a few. Then again if they are let in it opens a whole new debate as to whether steroid use is worse than betting on the game. If alleged steroid users are let in then what’s stopping Pete Rose or “Shoeless” Joe Jackson form making it. This will be the discussion going forward as yet another debate enters the world of the Hall of Fame.
MLB Standings
American League
East:
1. New York Yankees (.613)
2. Baltimore Orioles (.527)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (.521)
4. Boston Red Sox (.511)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (.425)
Central:
1. Chicago White Sox (.538)
2. Detroit Tigers (.532)
3. Cleveland Indians (.505)
4. Kansas City Royals (.424)
5. Minnesota Twins (.419)
West:
1. Texas Rangers (.598)
2. Los Angeles Angels (.543)
3. Oakland Athletics (.527)
4. Seattle Mariners (.421)
National League
East:
1. Washington Nationals (.582)
2. Atlanta Braves (.554)
3. New York Mets (.505)
4. Miami Marlins (.473)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (.436)
Central:
1. Cincinnati Reds (.570)
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (.565)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (.516)
4. Milwaukee Brewers (.478)
5. Chicago Cubs (.413)
6. Houston Astros (.362)
West:
1. San Francisco Giants (.559)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (.532)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (.484)
4. San Diego Padres (.421)
5. Colorado Rockies (.380)
Key Scores:
San Francisco Giants 3 – 2 Houston Astros (12th)
– Tim Lincecum finally seemed to figure things out as he went 8 scoreless innings but the Astros would not go away forcing extra innings until Hector Sanchez made up for a costly error in the 9th with a walk-off single in the 12th
Boston Red Sox 5 – 1 Chicago White Sox
– Kevin Youkilis made his return to Boston for the first time since being traded earlier in the month but could not lead his team to the win even with a surprisingly positive welcome back at Fenway Park
Washington Nationals 5 – 4 New York Mets (10th)
– Two of the more surprising teams this year in the MLB faced off as the Nationals and Mets fought it out in a close game but the National League leading Nationals got the in on a wild pitch in the 10th inning
Los Angeles Angels 6 – 1 Texas Rangers
– In a battle of the AL West the Angels came out on top as they look to make up ground in the division battle while the Rangers lost losing a bit of their lead in the division
Next Week:
Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals (July 21st; 1:05 pm ET)
– The Battle for the NL East enters a critical day as the Nationals look to defend the top spot against the second place Atlanta Braves in the first of a double header that could hopefully mean a charge to the finish for one of these teams
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles (July 24th; 7:05 pm ET)
– The Rays and O’s could be in a heated battle when it comes to the end of the season as both teams are in the race for second place in the AL East and this series could give one team the boost they need in the second half
Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians (July 26th; 7:05 pm ET)
– The Tigers are looking to shake off a bad first half of the season as they try to take out all challengers including the third place Indians on their way to the top of the AL Central division led by the Chicago White Sox
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants (July 27th; 0:15 pm ET)
– This rivalry may see more to it down the stretch as both the Dodgers and the Giants are looking to win the NL West as they will fight it out for half a season to see who can come out on top as this series could play a pivotal role
Filed under Baseball · Tagged with Alan Trammell, Barry Bonds, Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame voters, Basreball Hall of Fame induction, Cooperstown, Mark MgWire, MLB, MLB Hall of fame, MLB Hall of Fame induction, MLB Standings, Orel Hershiser, Roberto Alomar, Roger Clemons, Steroid Era, Steroid Era and the Hall of fame, Ted Simmons, Tim Raines
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